Road to Nowhere
by Renthead621
Summary: Roger take a bus out of NYC for a change of scenery after a rough turn of events.
1. Chapter 1

Roger got on the bus. He didn't know where he was going or what he was doing. All he knew was he had to get out of New York City. Being there was too painful. Angel died on Halloween and then he lost Mimi on New Years Eve. Holidays always sucked for him, but this year cemented it. No more damn holiday. He didn't want to celebrate anything anymore. What the hell was there to celebrate? Life was short and getting shorter by the day. Collins and Maureen just wanted to celebrate everything. Waking up everyday was a reason to celebrate. But Roger didn't get it. They were supposed to be able to fall in love and grow old and accomplish everything they were put on this earth to accomplish, but they couldn't. They were plagued with the knowledge that HIV is gonna take 2 more of them away. 2 less people who are gonna leave their mark on the world. 2 less people who are gonna fall in love, get married and have a family. He just had to get out. There was no way for him to stay in Alphabet City.

Losing Mimi was the last straw. When Angel died, he ran away to Santa Fe to try to forget about Mimi and find his glory, but his love for Mimi was just too strong. She pulled him back to New York, but this was different. He was haunted by her. He couldn't stay in the same place where he had fallen in love with her. He couldn't stay in the same place where he showed her his love. He couldn't stay in the same place where he watched her slip away. He couldn't. He put his bag on the shelf above his seat and sat down putting his guitar next to him. What was Mark gonna say when he found out that Roger was gone? He waited for Mark to go to bed before he snuck out. He remember the last time he left, Mark lectured him about running away. There was no way he wanted to go through that again. All he wanted to do was get out clean and quiet. He couldn't stay waiting to die. He had to do something with his life. Getting away was the only way he was gonna be able to do that.

He leaned back in his seat and waited for the bus to depart. He stared out the window. Before long the bus had departed the station. As he started out the window he watched the lights in the city. It was 2 in the morning but the lights were still shining. He watched the highway, not unlike his drive to Santa Fe a few months earlier. He reached into his guitar case and pulled out a small notebook and a pen. He figured it was a long ride, so he might as well start writing something. Or at least try to start writing something. He had been writing a lot since he lost Mimi. Inspiration born out of tragedy. As he continued writing the bus pulled into a station. He looked out the window at his surroundings. There were lights everywhere. He knew he couldn't have been too far from New York City, but it was far enough. He didn't feel his own death there. Something about it made him want to get out. He put his jacket on and picked up his guitar. He debated whether or not this is where he wanted to get off or keep going. He reached up for his bag and carried it to the front of the bus.

"Where are we?" he asked the bus driver as he approached the front of the bus.

"Atlantic City, New Jersey." he answered looking up at him. Roger looked out the window debating whether or not he wanted to get off. "Are you getting off kid?" the bus driver asked looking up at him.

"Um... yeah, sorry. Yeah, I'm getting off." he said walking down the steps of the bus. He looked around as the bus pulled away. This was it. He was stuck in Atlantic City, New Jersey. As he began walking around looking for a place to stay he bumped into someone.

"Hey, watch it. Geez, don't you watch where you're going?" a high pitched voice shouted looking up at him.

"I'm sorry. I was just...I'm sorry." he said looking down at the woman who was yelling at him.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I'm just having a bad night and I just want to go home. I'm Madison." she said looking up at him.

"Roger. Davis." he said looking down at her.

"Did you just get off the bus?" she asked propping her bag higher up on her shoulder.

"Does it show?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, pretty much. Do you have anywhere to stay?" she asked looking up at him.

"No, but I'll find someplace." he said looking down at her.

"OK, well when you get settled in, gimme a call." she smiled handing him a book of matches. It was to a bar down the boardwalk.

"Is this where you live?" he asked looking down at the matches.

"No, it's where I work. I'm not stupid enough to give a total stranger my home phone number? No matter how cute he is." she laughed walking away from him as she continued walking home.

"He couldn't help but stare at her. She was small, maybe 5 foot and really petite. She had long blond hair and beautiful blue eyes. She was the complete opposite of Mimi. When she left his view, he turned around and started walking around looking for a place to stay for the night. He had some money left from the money his mother sent him for his meds, food and rent. He found the bar Madison worked at and quickly found a cheap motel close by. He entered the room and plopped his things down by the bed. He debated whether or not he should call the loft and tell Mark where he was. He quickly decided against it. If he called the loft, Mark and them would be there to convince him to come home by morning. He didn't want to go home. He needed to get away and stay away. Home is supposed to be a place where you feel safe. The loft made him feel the death that chased after him and Collins. He laid down the bed and drifted off to sleep.

The next day he woke up to silence. That was unusual. On a normal day he usually heard Mark fiddling around with the coffee maker or Collins sliding the door to the loft open holding the Village Voice. But this morning there was nothing but silence. He stood up from the bed and went to the window. As he looked outside he saw people walking around. He looked at his watch and noticed that it was 2 in the afternoon. He moved away from the window to take his meds before he put his boots on. He didn't know what he was gonna do, but he did know he needed coffee. It was the only addiction he refused to give up. He went to the corner diner and ordered a coffee. As he looked around he saw all different kinds of people. Atlantic City wasn't too different from the East Village, except he didn't have HIV and AIDS shoved in his face all the time. It was someplace where he can have a fresh start. He could live with HIV rather than worry about dying from it. He took his coffee and went back to the motel. He sat in his room wondering what he was gonna do. He knew he needed to get a job. 500 dollars wasn't gonna last too much longer if he was gonna get an apartment. He sat on the bed in his hotel room staring at the matchbook thinking about Madison. He picked up his guitar and started playing. As he struck the first chords he heard yelling in the street below. He got up from the bed to see what it was.

"Come on Madison. Just one damn date. Would that be so damn hard?" a man's voice yelled as he saw people standing outside the bar.

"Bobby, leave me the hell alone. I told you, I'm not going out with you and I never will." Madison yelled as a larger man held her arm tight. Roger saw this and bolted down the stairs.

"Hey ape, get your hands off of her." he yelled running across the street.

"Who the hell are you?" the larger man asked looking over at Roger who was his height.

"I'm the guy you're gonna have problem with if you don't leave the lady alone. Didn't you hear her? She doesn't want to date you, so hit the bricks." Roger yelled as he let go of Madison's arm so she could go to Roger.

"We're not done here Maddie. I'll be back." he threatened before walking away.

"And I'll still be here." Roger yelled as Madison looked up at him. "Are you OK?" he asked looking down at Madison.

"Roger, what are you doing here? Are you stalking me?" she asked looking up at him.

"I needed a place to stay last night so I started walking and saw the motel across the street and then I heard you fighting with that guy and saw you needed help, so..." he started before Madison cut him off.

"Well I didn't need your help. I could handle Bobby. We get into it like that at least once a week." she said looking up at him.

"Yeah well, when I see a man treating a woman that way, I have to help. It's who I am." he explained looking down at her.

"I'm... I'm sorry Roger. I've been taking care of myself for so long that I'm just not used to anyone coming to my rescue. Thanks. Do you wanna come in for a drink? On me?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, maybe I will. Just in case that guy comes back. I wouldn't want you not to have your bodyguard around." he laughed looking down at him.

"Oh please. I bet I can do more damage to him than you could. I'm a Jersey girl." she laughed looking up at him.

"Yeah well, I don't take any chances." he smiled following her into the bar.

"What's your poison?" she said looking up at him as she went around the bar.

"Beer, please." he smiled as he sat on the bar stool.

"Beer it is. So what are you running from?" she asked looking up at him as she put the beer bottle in front of him.

"What do you mean?" he asked drinking his beer.

"People don't relocate to AC on purpose. So that means you're running away from something. What'd you do in New York?" she asked looking up at him.

"I don't want to talk about it." he told her drinking his beer again. "Actually, I should be going anyway. I have to start looking for a job. My money's gonna run out soon." he said looking down at her.

"Listen, if you need a job, we're looking for a bartender. It's not New York City, but it's a job." she smiled looking up at him.

"Are you sure? I mean, you don't even know if I can tend bar." he said looking down at her.

"I told you, this isn't New York City. People usually stick to the basics. Rum and coke, beer, Jack and coke. Nothing too complicated. So what do you say? The pay sucks, but the tips are good." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK. I'll be back later. Thanks Maddie. I appreciate this." he smiled finishing his beer before putting it on the bar and leaving.


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you ready for your first night?" Madison asked as Roger stepped behind the bar.

"Yeah, I think so. How busy does it usually get?" he asked looking down at her.

"Not busy. It's usually just the neighborhood crowd and on Sundays and Mondays we usually get the football crowd, but they're tame." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK, I think I'm ready." he smiled looking down at her.

"Hey Maddie. Who do I have to screw to get a drink around here?" an older man asked smiling at Madison.

"This guy." she smiled looking up at Roger before walking away.

"Hey kid, I'm Shane." he smiled looking over at Roger.

"Roger. What can I get you?" he asked looking down at him.

"Draft beer." Shane smiled looking up at him.

"That I can do." Roger said turning around to get a mug and start dispensing the beer into the mug.

"So how long you been in New Jersey kid?" he asked looking up at him as Roger put the beer in front of him.

"I got here last night." he said wiping down the counter.

"You're a newbie, huh? Well you must have made some impression on our little Maddie. It's not like her to take in strays." he smiled drinking his beer.

"I bumped into her last night and then some guy was hassling her outside so I came out and gave her and hand." he said looking over at Madison who was laughing with an older female customer at the other end of the bar. She kept looking over at Roger and smiling.

"Must have been some bump kid." Shane laughed looking up at him.

"Yeah, I guess." he smiled looking down at his feet.

"Roger, come here a minute." Madison called out smiling at him.

"I'll be right back." he smiled looking over at Shane before going to Madison.

"Roger, I would like you to meet my mother and one of the owners of this fine establishment. Mom, this is Roger. He's staying in the motel across the street until he finds a place of his own." Madison smiled looking up at Roger.

"You know, if you're looking to get out of that stinky motel, I have a studio apartment above my garage. It's not the plaza, but it's clean and it's furnished." Mrs. Corrigan said smiling up at him.

"How much?" he asked leaning down on the bar.

"Don't worry about that for now. We'll figure something out." she smiled drinking her soda.

"Thanks. I really appreciate that." he smiled looking over at Madison.

"No problem Roger. So, what did you do in New York City?" she asked looking up at him.

"I was a musician. Actually I still am, but I just had to get away from New York." he started explaining without going into too much detail.

"A musician, huh? Maybe we could class this place up and add some music to it." Mrs. Corrigan smiled looking up at Madison.

"Mom, I suggested that last year and you told me no. You said, we have music, a juke box. Do you remember that?" Madison laughed looking over at her mom.

"Well I changed my mind. I'd like to hear what you've got one of these days Roger." Mrs. Corrigan asked smiling up at him.

"I'd like that too." he smiled looking down at Madison. "Shane looks like he could use a refill. I gotta go." he smiled looking over at the ladies.

"He's cute. You should definitely go for him before the sluts around her try to snag him." Mrs. Corrigan said looking over at Madison.

"Oh yeah, that's all I need, another man in my life. Um, no thank you. Not with my track record." she smiled looking over at her before wiping down the counter.

"Is that all you have?" Madison asked looking up as Roger walked up the driveway.

"Yeah, I travel light." he smiled looking down at her.

"OK, well here are your keys. Let me show you to your apartment." she smiled looking up at him.

"Thanks. I really appreciate your mom doing this for me." he smiled following her up the stairs to the garage apartment.

"Don't mention it. Really. She'll probably have you doing yard work come spring and expect to be shoveling when the next snow storm hits. But she likes cooking for people, so that's how she repays people." she smiled opening the door. It was small, but homey. A lot smaller than the loft, but it was his. No Mark's films laying all over the place, no Collins papers strewn all over the table. This was his place and his place only.

"Home cooking? I haven't had that since... well it's been a while." he laughed putting his bag down.

"Don't get too excited. I didn't say it was good." she laughed looking up at him as she plopped down on his bed.

"Whatever. As long as it's not ramen noodles or Capt'n Crunch, I'm good." he laughed looking down at her.

"Is that your guitar?" she asked getting off of the bed and going to his guitar case.

"Um... yeah it is. Do you wanna hear me play something?" he asked picking up the case and taking the guitar out.

"Yeah, I'd like that." she smiled sitting back on the bed as he sat next to her with his guitar in his hand.

"I wrote this last year for a girl I knew." he confessed starting the song. "_Your eyes, As we said our goodbyes, Can't get them out of my mind, And I find I can't hide, From your eyes, The ones that took me by surprise, The night you came into my life, Where there's moonlight I see your eyes, How'd I let you slip away, When I'm longing so to hold you, Now I'd die for one more day, 'Cause there's something, I should have told you, Yes there's something, I should have told you, When I looked into your eyes, Why does distance make us wise?, You were the song all along, And before this song dies, I should tell you I should tell you, I have always loved you, You can see it in my eyes." _he continued looking over at Madison. She was crying.

"Roger, that was beautiful. What happened to the girl you wrote that for?" she asked wiping her eyes.

"Um... she um... she died. AIDS." he said putting the guitar down next to his bed.

"I'm so sorry Roger." she said looking up at him.

"She died last week. That's what I'm running from. I couldn't stay there anymore. We lost our friend Angel on Halloween and Mimi died on New Years eve. I couldn't do it anymore. I had to get out of there." he said getting up from the bed.

"Roger, I'm really sorry. Are you positive?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah. Yeah I am Maddie. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." he said quietly looking over at him.

"It's OK Roger. Are you OK? Are you on medication and everything?" she getting up to go to him.

"Yeah, I'm AZT." he said looking down at her.

"Well that's good. Um... I'm gonna let you get settled in. I'll see you at the bar later, OK?" she said looking up at him.

"OK thanks Maddie." he smiled looking down at her.

"Well, I am a bartender. We're known for being good listeners. I'll see you later." she smiled before leaving the apartment. Roger stood by the window and watched her cross the driveway to go to the main house.

"Is Roger getting settled in?" Mrs. Corrigan asked looking over at Madison who just nodded before going up to her room. She laid on her bed and cried. Little did she know, Roger could see her through his window. He left his apartment and went to the main house.

"Mrs. C, which room is Maddie's?" he asked as he entered the house.

"It's the second door on the left. Is she OK? When she came in she didn't say anything, she just went up to her room." she asked looking up at him.

"I'll be right back." he said looking down at her before going upstairs to Madison's room. "Maddie. Maddie, it's Roger. I'm coming in, OK?" he asked opening the door. "Maddie, are you OK?" he asked rushing over to the bed.

"Yeah Roger, I'm fine. I just get like this sometimes." she said looking up at him.

"Do you have depression or something?" he asked looking down at her.

"No, I just found out this guy I know has HIV and it's not fair." she laughed wiping her eyes.

"I'm sorry Maddie. I didn't mean to make you cry." he said looking over at her.

"No, it's OK Roger. It's not your fault. I'm glad you told me. But why would you tell me?" she asked looking up at him.

"Because we're friends, right?" he asked looking over at her.

"Of course we're friends Roger." she smiled looking over at him.


	3. Chapter 3

"Bobby, what the hell is your problem? Why don't you just leave me alone." Madison yelled standing outside the bar.

"Why won't you date me?" he asked looking down at her.

"Because the last girl you dated landed in the hospital with a broken nose, 2 broken ribs and a wired jaw. What the hell makes you think I wanna be next on you're I love you but I have to hurt you hit list?" she yelled looking up at him as Roger came down the block.

"What the fuck is your problem Maddie? You had no problem screwing half the guys in the damn neighborhood, why not me?" he asked as she pulled her arm back and punched him in the face. Just then Roger ran down the block to grab her.

"Fuck you Bobby. Don't ever fucking come back here again? You are not welcome here anymore. Do you hear me Bobby? Never again." she yelled as Roger held her back.

"Oh, what are you gonna do get your boyfriend after me? Does he know you've screwed half the neighborhood?" he asked looking down at her.

"Bobby man, I think you better get the hell out of here because I have a feeling I'm not the one you should be worried about. I let her go and she'll tear your head off." Roger said looking over at him.

"Fine, I'm going. But you better watch it with her newbie. She's gonna give you a disease or something." Bobby said walking away.

"I'm gonna fuckin..." Roger started as he began running after him.

"Roger, no. It's OK. I'm used to it. I made really bad choices when I was a teenager. My problem is, I didn't run away like you did. I should have, but I got stuck here. My dad died and then my mom needed someone to help her run the bar and here I am. The whore of the neighborhood." she yelled crying as Roger wrapped his arms around her.

"You're not a whore Maddie. You made stupid mistakes when you were a teenager, but you're not that teenager anymore. You're a grown woman. You're a business woman, whose bar is doing pretty damn good from what I can tell." he smiled looking down at her.

"I'm clean, you know? I've been tested for everything and I'm clean." she cried looking up at him.

"It's OK Maddie. I know Bobby's just being a dick. Everything's gonna be OK Maddie. Don't worry about it." he whispered holding her in his arms.

"Roger, I'm sorry. You ran away from your past, just to be slapped in the face with mine." she cried looking up at him.

"It's OK Maddie. I'm a big boy. I can take it." he smiled looking down at her as she lifted her head up to look into his green eyes.

"I swear, you are so lucky. You have this chance at a whole new life, you know. No one needs to know anything you don't want them to know because they weren't there to witness your mistakes. I wish I could just get far away from here. No one would know about anything I did in my past." she said looking up at him.

"Or who?" Roger said trying not to laugh.

"Is that your idea of a joke?" she yelled trying not to laugh.

"Is it working?" he asked smiling down at her.

"You're bad. You are definitely from the city." she laughed hitting his chest.

"Yeah well, I can't let Bobby ruin your night." he smiled as she looked into his gorgeous green eyes.

"Thanks Roger. But what are you doing here? You're off tonight." she asked looking up at him.

"I didn't want to stay in the apartment, so I figured I'd go to this cute little bar in the neighborhood I know. " he smiled looking down at her.

"Oh yeah?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah and it's a good thing too. I would have had to clean up Bobby guts from in front of this place tomorrow when you killed him." he laughed looking down at her.

"Maddie, what's taking so long? Oh hey Roger. What are you doing here? You're off tonight." Mrs. Corrigan asked looking up at him.

"Hey Mrs. C. I needed to get out of the apartment so I thought I'd come her and be a customer for a change." he smiled looking down at Madison.

"And save Bobby's life, huh?" she laughed looking up at him.

"Yeah, that too." he laughed as Madison started inside the bar.

"That boy is not gonna be happy until Madison kills him. He just runs his mouth and runs his mouth. He doesn't know when to shut up." Mrs. Corrigan smiled looking up at Roger as he entered the bar with Madison.

"Yeah, I had to hold her back from ripping his head off." he said sitting next to her.

"Are you two done having fun at my expense?" she asked going around the bar to get Roger a beer.

"We're sorry Baby. We're just playing around." Roger said as Madison looked over at him in shock.

"Um... we need more Jack. I'll um… be right back." she said before rushing off to the basement.

"I'm gonna go help her." Roger said getting up and following her. "Maddie, are you OK?" he asked chasing after her.

"Yeah Um… I'm fine Roger. I can get this. Go back upstairs with my mom." she said not looking up at him.

"Maddie, what's the matter?" he asked looking down at her.

"You called me Baby, Roger. What was that all about?" she yelled as tears ran down her face.

"I don't know. I'm sorry Maddie. It's just, I... um... I like you. I'm sorry I called you Baby, out of the blue. It's just… it's been 6 months since I got here and I... I haven't felt this way about anyone in a really long time." he said looking down at her.

"And what about your friends? What about Mimi? The reason you ran away here to begin with?" she asked looking up at him.

"My friends are in New York and Mimi's gone. I'm here. With you." he said looking into her blue eyes.

"With me?" she asked quietly as he moved closer to her.

"Yeah Maddie. With you." he whispered taking her face in his hands and kissing her passionately.

"I have wanted you to do that for a long time." Maddie smiled looking up at him.

"I'm sorry it took so long." he smiled caressing her face.

"So now what do we do?" she asked looking up at him.

"Well, I happen to know your mom is gonna be happy. She's been singing your praises since I moved in." he laughed looking down at her.

"And what about Bobby? You know he's gonna be even more obnoxious. He might even come after you." she said looking up at him worried.

"Don't worry about me. I'll just have my girlfriend beat the shit out of him." he laughed leaning down to kiss her.

"You have no idea what Bobby's like. He put his last girlfriend in the hospital. She was really bad. I found her in the alley behind the bar. She was talking to some guy about like baseball or something, so he took her outside and beat her down. He's a really bad guy. I don't want him hurting you." she said looking up at him.

"It's OK Maddie. I'm from Alphabet City, remember? I can take care of myself." he smiled holding her close to him.


	4. Chapter 4

"You know, I've been thinking." Madison said laying next to Roger in his bed.

"What's that Baby?" he asked playing with her hair.

"I wanna go to the city and meet your friends." she said looking over at him.

"Baby, I'm not ready to go back. Not yet." he said rolling over towards her.

"I understand that. But Roger, you can't run away forever. And I'm sure they're worried about you." she said playing with his chest hair.

"They're probably pissed at me. I didn't tell them I was leaving or anything." he said looking down at her.

"They love you. I'm sure they're not pissed at you." she told him as she sat up in the bed covering her chest with the sheet.

"Baby, it's been 8 months without a single phone call. They're pissed. Trust me." he said looking up at her.

"Well if you ever want to go back, I'll go with you, OK?" she said looking over at him.

"I know Baby. Thanks." he smiled leaning up to kiss her. As he kissed her he brought her back down on the bed and they began to make love again. As Maddie lay in Roger's arms he thought about his life in the city. He wondered how Mark was doing, Collins too. He wondered if Joanne and Maureen were still together. The had broken up numerous times in the year before Angel died but when they found Mimi in the park on Christmas Eve, their relationship seemed fine, but knowing them, they were probably broken up by now. He began to drift off to sleep when there was a knock on the door.

"Who could that be?" Madison asked half asleep.

"I don't know Baby, go back to sleep. I'll get it." he whispered kissing her head before putting his boxers on and going to the door.

"Roger, thank God we found you. You have no idea how long we've been looking or you." the visitor said entering the apartment.

"Maureen, what the hell are you doing here? How did you know where to find me?" he asked as Madison turned over to see who it was.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt anything. Hi, I'm Maureen and that's Joanne over there." she smiled sitting on the foot of the bed introducing herself.

"Maureen, why are you here?" Roger asked looking at her impatiently.

"Roger, you have to come home." Joanne said looking up at him.

"Joanne, I am home. I have a job, and an apartment, and a girlfriend, and a life here. There's nothing for me in the city." he said looking over at her.

"You really should come with us Roger." Maureen said looking up at him.

"Why? What's going on? Is it Collins? Is he OK?" he asked making his way back to the bed to sit with Madison.

"Yeah Roger, it's Collins. He's sick. It's not PCP, but it doesn't look good." Maureen said looking over at him.

"Oh man. I gotta go Baby." he said looking over at Madison.

"I'm going with you." she said looking up at him.

"What about our jobs?" he asked looking down at her.

"I'm not gonna make you do this alone Roger. My mom can have Steven and Max cover for us." she said looking up at him.

"Thanks Maddie." he said kissing her head.

"Hi, I'm Maddie." she said looking over at Maureen and Joanne.

"I'm Maureen and that's Joanne. It's nice to meet you Maddie." Maureen smiled looking over at Madison.

"I just wish it was under better circumstances." Madison said looking up at Roger.

"Will you guys excuse us. We have to get dressed." Roger said looking up at them.

"Sure, we'll be outside in the car. Take your time." Joanne smiled looking down at them.

"Thanks Joanne." Roger smiled looking up at them as Joanne and Maureen left the apartment. "Damn, Collins. He's the strongest one out of all of us. If he could get sick..." Roger said as he began pacing around the apartment.

"Roger, calm down. They said it's not PCP. It's possible he's gonna be OK." Madison said reaching over to put her robe on before getting up to go to him.

"He's HIV positive Maddie. Any illness could kill him. I've seen it happen." he said looking down at her.

"Roger, listen to me. We can't jump to conclusions. Why don't we get dressed and go with Maureen and Joanne? Whatever happens, we'll deal with it." she said looking up at him holding his arm.

"Maddie, this is why I left. There is so much death in the city. I couldn't take it anymore." he said looking down at her.

"Yeah, but this is your friend Roger. You can't turn your back on him. He needs you there and whether you know this or not, you need to be there. You would never forgive yourself for not being there for him." Maddie said looking up at him.

"We need to get some things together. There's no way to know how long we're gonna be there." he said looking down at her.

"OK Baby. I just need to go over to the house and put some things into a bag. I'll meet you at the car, OK?" she said looking up at him before she turned around to leave the apartment.

"Maddie." he called out looking over at her.

"I know Roger. I'll meet you in the car, OK?" she smiled before leaving the apartment. Roger began getting dressed before he looked around the apartment to shove things into a bag. There was a picture of him and Madison in the mirror above his dresser. He just smiled at it. They had been dating 2 months and she had been spending a lot of time at his apartment. She still lived in the main house, but normally stayed in Roger's apartment. He finished packing his bag and went outside to Joanne's car.

"Where's Maddie?" Maureen asked as Roger got into the car.

"She had to go to the main house and get some things together." he said looking up at the house.

"How have you been Roger?" Joanne asked looking up at him.

"I've been good. I work at the bar Maddie's mom owns and I live above their garage." he smiled watching Madison come out of the house.

"You love her don't you?" Maureen asked looking back at him.

"Yeah, I do." he said quietly as Madison approached the car.

"Are we ready Baby?" she smiled getting into the car.

"Yeah, we're ready." Roger smiled putting his arm around her shoulders. "So how bad is he?" Roger asked looking over at them.

"They put him in the hospital a couple of days ago. They're giving him IV antibiotics to fight the infection in his lungs. His t-cells are still fairly high, but the doctors are still really worried." Maureen said looking back at him.

"Oh man. How did you guys find me?" he asked looking up at them with his arm around Madison.

"We've been looking for you for 6 months. Mark got worried when you were gone past your usual month, so we gave you an extra month before I hired a private investigator." Joanne told him as she drove back into the city.

"Yeah, but we weren't expecting to find you so close. The investigator went west and worked his way back east and here you were. Under our noses the whole time." Maureen said looking back at him.

"Yeah well, I was on the bus and just liked the view so I got off." he said looking up at the city as they crossed the bridge.

"Yeah and then he bumped into me, almost knocking me down." Madison laughed looking up at him.

"I said I was sorry Baby." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"I know." she laughed as she laid her head on his chest and watching out the window.


	5. Chapter 5

"Roger, you're here. Where the hell have you been? You leave in the middle of the night not telling anyone where you're going or even if you're going?" Mark said looking up at Roger as he and Madison entered the hospital waiting room.

"Yeah Mark, I'm here. Where's Collins? Is he OK?" he asked ignoring the hostility in Mark's voice.

"Yeah, he's OK. The doctor said he could go home in a couple of days. Speaking of home, where is that for you now?" Mark asked looking up at him.

"I'm sorry I left the way I did. I couldn't stay there anymore after Mimi... and I couldn't take another confrontation with you like I had after Angel... I just needed to get out before I died here too." he said looking down at him as he clutched Madison's hand.

"Yeah well Roger, you could have called. It's been 8 months. Joanne had to hire a private investigator to find you. We thought you were dead." Mark said pacing around the waiting room.

"Yeah well, I'm not dead. I was in Jersey." he said looking down at him.

"Yeah well, same thing." Mark said trying not to laugh.

"Hey." Madison cut in trying not to laugh either.

"Sorry Baby. Inside joke." he smiled looking down at her as Mark approached them.

"I'm Mark. Roger's old roommate." Mark said introducing himself.

"Maddie. Roger and I are..." she started before Roger cut her off.

"She's my girlfriend Mark. And her mom owns the bar where I work." he said smiling down at Madison.

"It's nice to meet you Mark. I've heard so much about you. All of you." she smiled looking up at him.

"Can I go in and see Collins?" Roger asked looking over at Mark.

"Yeah, he's been asking for you." Mark said quietly sitting down again.

"I'll be right back Baby, OK?" Roger said leaning down to kiss her before going to Collins room. When he got to his room, he saw Collins laying in the bed. He looked so small and weak.

"Hey, where have you been?" he asked noticing Roger standing in the doorway.

"Jersey." he answered simply before entering the room.

"You ran away to Jersey?" Collins asked laughing before coughing.

"Are you OK?" Roger asked picking the cup up off of the nightstand and putting the straw in his mouth.

"Yeah, I'm OK. It's not my time kid. Don't worry about me. I'm glad you're home." he said looking up at him.

"I'm not. I just came to see you. To make sure you're OK. Then I'm going back to Jersey." he said sitting on the chair next to the bed.

"What's in Jersey?" he asked looking up at him.

"I can be normal in Jersey, you know? I mean, HIV's not always hanging over my head. I take my meds in the morning and then after that, I can be normal. I have a job, an apartment, a girlfriend." he smiled looking over at him.

"A girlfriend, huh? Is she here now?" he asked looking down at him.

"Yeah, she's out in the waiting room with Mark, Maureen and Joanne." he said sliding down in his chair.

"Tell me about her. What's her name? How did you meet her?" he asked smiling at him.

"Her name is Maddie. She's gorgeous Collins. I mean, beautiful long blond hair, blue eyes that can stop your heart. I met her not too far from the bus station. I bumped into her and she yelled at me. Then gave me a match book from her mom's bar, where she works. I was looking for a place to stay, so I was walking down the boardwalk and saw a motel across the street, so I got a room there." he smiled looking over at him.

"And, how did you start dating?" he asked looking over at him.

"The next day I heard some guy hassling her, so I ran across the street to help and she bought me a beer and offered me a job. Then her mom offered to let me stay in the garage apartment. I was there 6 months before anything happened." he said looking up at him.

"When do I get to meet her?" he asked smiling over at him.

"I can get her now, if you want." he said looking up at him.

"I want." he smiled looking over at him.

"I'll be right back." Roger said before getting up and leaving the room to get Madison.

"Baby, is everything OK?" she asked getting up and going to him as he entered the waiting room.

"Yeah, come with me." he smiled taking her hand and leading her down the hallway to Collins room. "Collins, this is Maddie. Maddie, this is Collins." he smiled introducing them.

"You are beautiful Babygirl. No wonder why Roger's been hiding out in Jersey." he smiled looking up at her.

"It's nice to meet you too Collins." she laughed looking up at Roger.

"So are you taking care of our boy here?" he asked looking up at her.

"I'm trying." she answered smiling at him.

"Well, he looks good." he smiled looking up at him.

"How are you doing? What did the doctor say?" she asked looking down at him.

"I'm fine. I'll be out in a couple of days. Don't worry about me Babygirl. You can't keep this old horse down for long." he laughed looking up at her.

"Old horse? You're a few years older than me." Roger laughed looking down at him.

"Yeah, but I'm more mature than you are." he smiled looking up at him.

"Bite me." Roger laughed as he sat in the chair. They sat and talked for most of the afternoon. Collins told Maddie stories about the Bohemians and the scuffles they would get into. She hadn't seen Roger laugh so much in the 8 months she knew him. He was home and she knew it.


	6. Chapter 6

"You ran away from this? It's nice." Madison smiled as she looked around the loft.

"Yeah, well there are a lot of ghosts you can't see." he said quietly going towards his room.

"Roger, if you don't want to stay here, we can go home and take the path train back tomorrow." she said following him.

"It's not that Maddie, it's just... there's a lot of memories here that I've been running away from. I thought they were gone, but being back here..." he said looking down at her.

"Brings them all to the surface. I understand." she said quietly sitting on his bed.

"Thank you for coming back with me. I couldn't do this without you." he said sitting next to her.

"Roger, I'm in this. All the way. I'm not gonna abandon you." she said looking up into his green eyes.

"It's just... things are really different for me here. April was here. Angel was here. Mimi was here. All that happened right here. I was high on more occasions than I care to remember in that corner over there. I went through withdrawal and sweat through numerous sets of sheets on this bed. I never wanted you to be here." he said getting off the bed to pace he room.

"Roger, I know this is hard. I really do. But even though you've been living in Jersey for 8 months, this is your home. Your family is here, your heart is here." she said looking up at him.

"No Maddie, you have my heart and you're in Jersey." he said looking down at her.

"I... um... what?" she asked confused as he returned to the bed.

"I love you Maddie." he smiled taking her hand.

"Um... did you just...um?" she said getting up from the bed.

"Maddie, what's the matter? Did I say something wrong?" he asked looking up at her.

"No. No Roger, it's just... no one's ever told me that before. I mean, of course my parents have, but... no one else has ever..." she said looking down at him.

"Well I do. I love you Maddie." he smiled getting up to go to her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled looking up at him with tears in her eyes.. "I just don't want you to stay in Jersey because of me." she said looking down at his hand.

"I'm not. Maddie, I love it in Jersey." he smiled taking her face in his hands.

"But what about your friends? They're here and they need you." she said looking up at him.

"But I need you Maddie. When I left here 8 months ago, I wanted to start a new life away from here. All I'd ever known was fighting for my life. Fighting to get gigs, fighting to pay the rent, fighting for the bathroom, fighting to get my meds, fighting for everything. In Jersey, I'm not fighting anymore. I have a job, an apartment of my own, new friends, and you. I don't feel like I have to fight anymore. I can have a normal life. A normal life with you." he whispered leaning down to her level.

"But Roger, I don't want to be the thing that keeps you away from everything you love and I don't want to be the thing you use to escape your past. Your past is what made you who you are. My protector when Bobby wouldn't stop hasseling me, or my friend on those dead nights at the bar before we started dating and we would just talk, or the guys who makes me feel like the most special person in the world. I don't want you to forget the things that made you that guy for me. I want you to embrace those things. They don't have to haunt you Roger." she said looking deep into his green eyes.

"You're not that thing that's keeping me away from everything I love. You are the thing I love. In the beginning I was escaping my past when I came to Jersey, but now I'm just living my life." he smiled looking into her blue eyes.

"Tell me about everything." she asked looking up at him.

"Like what?" he asked standing up straight.

"All of it. April, the drugs, Angel, Mimi. Everything." she said as he walked away from her.

"You know I can't Maddie. It's too hard." he said standing by the window.

"Roger, please. I know you've been wanting to tell me for 8 months, but something always holds you back." she said walking over to him.

"I told you some things." he said looking down at her.

"Yeah, you told me stuff. You never got into detail and told me how you felt about April or Angel or Mimi. Are you afraid to hurt my feelings? Roger, I'm a big girl. I know you had a life before me, just like I had a life before you." she said looking up at him.

"It's not that Maddie. It's just... it's too hard for me to relive all of that. I mean, one girlfriend slit her wrists after finding out she was HIV positive rather than letting me take care of her and I had to watch someone so full of life and love whither away and die and then I had to watch another girlfriend, someone who had so much more life to live die right in my arms over there. Can you blame me for not wanting to relive that?" he yelled walking away from her.

"I love you Roger. Can you blame me for wanting to be a part of your life? Living through that is what made you who you are. When you hide that part of you from me, it makes me feel like I'll never really know you." she yelled looking over at him.

"Yeah well, that's not someone I wanna be for you. I wanted to start over when I got to Jersey and when I met you I felt like I was able to. Here I'm defined by my HIV, not who I really am. You see who I really am. I can be myself when I'm with you in Jersey. Being back here just bring my HIV to the surface." he said quieter as he sat back on the bed.

"Roger, I know you wanted to start over in Jersey. But in order to start over, you have to face your past. If you just run from it, it'll catch up to you one of these days and then what? We're sitting here arguing over your past." she told him standing in front of him.

"Maddie, I just want to make a life with you. Outside of all of this and everything that happened to me here." he said wrapping his arms around her waist.

"And you do have a life with me Roger. But this is your life too. Your friends missed you Roger. You can't run away from them too." she said putting her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer.

"I'm not running away from them. Just the memories." he said burying his head in her chest.

"Stop running away Roger." she whispered holding him close.

"You really want to hear every gory detail?" he asked looking up at her.

"Yeah, I do. I wanna know you. Every part of you." she whispered smiling down at him.

"OK. I'll tell you everything." he said leaning up to kiss her before pulling her onto his lap and beginning to tell her about everything. As he told her the details, she moved off of his lap and onto the bed. Tears streamed down Roger's face as well as Madison's. She leaned over to hold him as he continued to tell her about April, Angel, and Mimi. "And then Maureen and Joanne found her. She was close to death. I sung her a song I had written for her. The one I sung to you the day I moved into the apartment. I told her I loved her for the first time. She appeared to slip away, but came back to me. Only to die on me a week later, right here in this bed. That's when I left. I had to get out of here. If I didn't, I knew I would die here too and I didn't want that. And then I met you." he concluded wiping the tears from his face.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that." she cried as he caressed her hair.

"Hey, it's what made me who I am for you." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"Does Mark still have that movie he made?" she asked as Roger wiped her wet face.

"Yeah, I'm sure he has that and then some. Why?" he asked looking over at her.

"I wanna see it. All of it." she said looking into his eyes.

"I want you to see it Maddie. I love you." he smiled leaning in to kiss her again.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him close to her. As they laid down in the bed they both drifted off to sleep. After a while Mark came home. He looked around the loft. When he didn't hear anybody, he went towards Roger's room. He peaked in hoping he was still there. He and Madison were laying on the bed in each others arms sleeping. That sight made him smile. It had been a while since Roger had been in his bed. Before long, Roger's eyes crept open and were directed towards the door.

"Hey." he whispered careful not to wake Madison up.

"Hey. Sorry, I was just..." he started when Roger interrupted him.

"Making sure I was still here. I know." he said as he carefully moved Madison over so he could get up. "Isn't she something?" he asked looking over at Madison.

"Yeah. Yeah Rog, she is." Mark smiled before moving away from Roger's room.

"I'm sorry about the last 8 months Mark. After Mimi... I just had to get out of here. There was too much death here." Roger explained sitting at the metal table. The same table they placed Mimi on the night they found her.

"I understand Roger, but you could have called. We were worried about you." he said looking down at him.

"I know. I just needed to get out of here. To get away from everything that happened here." he said looking over at him.

"I can't believe you were in Jersey this whole time. Hiding in plain sight." he said looking over at him.

"When I got on the bus, I had no idea where I was going. All I knew was I had to get out of here. When the bus stopped in Atlantic City, I just got off. I wasn't off the bus 5 minutes when I bumped into Maddie." he smiled thinking about that first meeting with Madison.

"Do you love her?" he asked looking over at him.

"Yeah I do. And she loves me Mark." he smiled looking up at him.

"Good. I'm glad you're happy." Mark smiled looking over at him.

"I am Mark." he smiled looking down at the table.

"Are you gonna go back to Jersey when Collins comes home?" he asked looking down at him.

"Yeah Mark, I am. That's my home now. With Maddie." he said looking up at him.

"This is your home too you know." he said looking over at him.

"Mark, I'm just trying to start a new life with Maddie. A life where HIV and AIDS isn't hanging over my head all the time. A normal life. I can't have that here. You all celebrate the fact that me and Collins are gonna die any day now. I don't want to live my life that way. I just want to get up, eat breakfast, go to the store for groceries, do laundry, stuff like that. Just normal things other people take for granted everyday." he told him getting up from the metal counter.

"But Roger, you're not normal. You're HIV positive and you're gonna die too young. What's wrong with living your life that way?" Mark yelled looking over at him.

"Because I want a normal life. In Jersey, I can be normal. With Maddie, I am normal. Don't you just want to be normal Mark? Get the hell out of here and have a normal life? Get married, maybe have some kids?" he yelled back as he directed his attention towards his room.

"Yeah, I do. But how am I supposed to do that when before this is over you and Collins are gonna be dead and I'm gonna still be here. Alive." he yelled back as Madison came out of the bedroom.

"Roger, what's going on?" she asked going to him.

"Nothing Baby. We're sorry we woke you up." he said wrapping his arms around her.

"Why were you two yelling at each other?" she asked looking up at them.

"It's nothing Baby. We were just talking." he said looking down at her.

"Loudly. Is everything OK?" she asked looking up at Roger before looking over at Mark.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I gotta go. We're meeting at the Life Cafe if you want. You gotta eat, right?" Mark said before picking up his bag.

"Thanks Mark. Yeah, we'll be there." Roger said looking over at him before he left the loft.

"What was that all about?" Madison asked looking up at him.

"Nothing, just old issues coming up." he said looking down at her.

"This can't be easy for him Roger. He has to watch most of the people he cares about die of a disease that makes no sense and takes no prisoners." she said looking up at him.

"I know, but Maddie, he expects me to just stay here and wait for me and Collins to die and I can't do it. I wanna have a life. I want my life to be with you." he said looking down at her.

"And it is with me Roger. I told you, I'm in this. All the way. But you don't have to be in Jersey to be with me and have a life." she said looking up at him.

"Yeah, I do. Jersey is where I want to be." he said smiling down at her.

"We'll talk about it later, OK. I'm gonna go get cleaned up before we go to the Life Cafe." she said quietly before walking away from him.

"Maddie, I love you." he said looking over at her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled looking back at him before heading into the bathroom.


	7. Chapter 7

"Do you think he's gonna stay?" Maureen asked sitting across the table from Mark.

"No. He already said as soon as Collins is home, he's going home too. He made it clear this afternoon, Jersey is his home. He can be normal there and he can be with Maddie there." he said looking over at her.

"Well Jersey's not that far away." Joanne said looking over at him.

"Yeah, but Jersey's not here." he said looking up as he saw Roger and Madison enter the cafe.

"Hi guys." Madison smiled looking down at them.

"Hi Maddie. We've been waiting for you." Maureen smiled looking up at them as Roger sat next to Mark and Madison sat next to him.

"Oh? What am I in for?" she laughed looking up at Roger.

"We just want to get to know you. " Maureen smiled looking over at them.

"Maureen, I'm not gonna let you give my girlfriend the third degree." Roger said looking down at Madison.

"I'm not gonna give her the third degree. We just want to get to know her." Maureen said looking over at them.

"It's OK Roger. I'm a Jersey girl. I think I can hold my own." Madison laughed looking up at him.

"Mark, can I talk to you outside for a minute?" Roger asked looking over at Mark.

"Sure." Mark said looking over at him.

"I'll be right back Baby." he said leaning down to kiss Madison.

"What do you want Roger?" he asked looking up at him as they got outside.

"I'm sorry about before. It's just... I love Maddie and I love my life in Jersey." he said looking over at him.

"I understand that Roger. I mean, Jersey's not that far away, right?" Mark said smiling up at him.

"Right. I mean, now you know where I am and you know I'm OK. You can come visit anytime. It's really cool Mark." he smiled looking down at him.

"I can see why you would like it so much." he smiled looking in the window at Madison who was laughing with Maureen and Joanne.

"She's really great Mark. And she really loves me. I can imagine loving her for the rest of my life." he smiled looking at Madison too.

"I can see she makes you happy Roger. I'm glad. You deserve to be happy." he said looking up at him.

"So do you Mark. Just because me and Collins are positive, it doesn't mean you can't have a life too." he said looking over at him.

"I told you, I'll have plenty of time to have a life when you and Collins are gone." he said looking up at him.

"Mark, it could be a while until that happens. You deserve happiness now. No one's guaranteed tomorrow. Not even you." he said looking over at him.

"I know that Roger. Remember I live in Alphabet City." he said looking up at him.

"So come to Jersey with me and Maddie. We've been talking about moving in together. You can rent out Maddie's room at her mom's." Roger smiled looking down at him.

"What, and leave all this?" he laughed looking up at him.

"Well, at least promise me you'll come to visit." he smiled looking down at him.

"And just know that you always have a room when you want it back. If. If you want it back. This will always be your home. Yours and Maddie's." he smiled looking up at him.

"Thanks Mark. I appreciate that." Roger smiled before they went back into the cafe.

"Hi Baby. I was just telling Maureen and Joanne about you coming to my rescue on more than one occasion with Bobby." Madison smiled looking up at Roger.

"Yeah, now me and him are buddies. Go figure." he laughed sitting down next to Madison.

"It sounds like you are really happy in Jersey, Roger. We're really glad. You deserve it." Maureen smiled looking up at him.

"Thanks Maureen. I really am happy." he smiled looking over at her as he put his arm around Madison.

"I was thinking. Tomorrow morning we can go to breakfast and then we can go visit Collins and hang out for the day." Madison suggested smiling at everyone.

"That's a great idea Baby." Roger smiled leaning over to kiss her.

"I knew you'd like that." she smiled leaning in to him. As they sat and talked, Joanne, Maureen and Mark filled Madison in on all the good times they had in the Life Cafe. They talked about April, Angel and Mimi. Roger was so comfortable, even he was telling stories. They talked and drank into the wee hours of the night. When they finally did leave the cafe, Mark, Roger and Madison went to the loft and Maureen and Joanne went home. "This has been the best night. Thank you for making me feel like part of the family." Madison smiled looking up at Mark as Roger held her in his arms.

"Well you are a part of the family Maddie." he smiled looking down at her as she looked up at Roger.

"I'm beat. I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you in the morning Mark." she smiled looking up at Mark.

"I'll be in in a little while Baby, OK?" he smiled as he leaned down to kiss her.

"OK Baby. Good night Mark." she smiled holding Roger's face in her hands.

"Good night Maddie." he smiled looking over at her as she went into Roger's room. "Roger, I'm fine with you living in Jersey. And I really like Maddie. She's amazing." he smiled looking up at him.

"It's not that Mark. I meant what I said. You should come with us when we go home. Visit for a little while." he suggested looking over at him.

"Yeah, and who's gonna take care of Collins. He's gonna need help when he gets out of the hospital." he said looking over at him.

"Maureen and Joanne can do it. You need a break Mark. And you can get that in Jersey. Come on. It'll be fun." he smiled looking over at him.

"Let me think about it. And I have to talk to Maureen and Joanne about taking care of Collins when he gets out." he said looking up at him.

"It'll be fun Mark. Trust me." he smiled looking over at him.

"Well, I'm beat. I gotta go to bed. I'll see you and Maddie in the morning." he smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah, I gotta go in to my girl anyway." he smiled gesturing towards his room.

"Yeah go. She's a great girl Roger. Don't let her go." he smiled before going towards his room.

"I won't Mark. Good night." he smiled looking over at him.

"Good night Rog." Mark smiled going into his room.

"So, I heard Mark approves of me." Maddie smiled looking up at Roger from the bed. She was wearing one of his tank tops and pair of his boxers.

"Yeah, you can say that." he smiled crawling into bed next to her.

"I love you Roger." she smiled looking up at him.

"I love you too Maddie." he smiled leaning in to kiss her. As he laid down with her, they began to make love in Roger's bed at the loft.

"I like it here." Madison smiled cuddling up to Roger.

"Don't even think about it Baby. My home is Jersey." he said looking down at her.

"But everything is so different here." she said looking up at him.

"Everything is different in Jersey. Here everything is so glum. I like having my normal, boring little life in New Jersey. I wake up to you every morning, we go to your mom's house and she makes us breakfast, then we do laundry, or go food shopping, or lounge out in bed watching tv until we have to go to work and then we fight over the bathroom and the hair dryer and the mousse. I love my life Maddie. I don't want to come back here." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"I was just saying. I mean, I know how much your friends miss you and I think it would be nice for me to have a change of scenery. I mean, people don't know about my past here and you have a lot more people who care about you here." she smiled looking up at him.

"I don't want to move back here Maddie. I wanna be in Jersey with you. I like me job, I like my apartment, I love my girlfriend. That's all that matters to me." he smiled caressing her face.

"OK, just checking." she smiled looking up at him as she cuddled up closer to him as they fell asleep in one another's arms.


	8. Chapter 8

"I don't know mom, you should have seen him. He was so happy." Madison said looking up at her mother as she made coffee.

"How happy could he be sweetie? He ran away." Mrs. Corrigan said looking over at her.

"He's got his ghosts there, I know. But mom, his friends are so amazing. I mean they love each other no matter what." she smiled looking over at her.

"Sweetie, do you love Roger?" Mrs. Corrigan asked looking over at her as she sat at the table.

"Of course I do mom. I've never loved anyone the way I love Roger." she said looking over at her.

"Do you think he loves you?" Mrs. Corrigan asked looking down at her.

"I know he loves me mom." she smiled looking up at her.

"So if he wants to be here with you, let him. I'm sure he knows what he's doing." she said taking her hand.

"Not if it means he's running away from his past. Mom, he told me everything when we were in New York City and it was really bad. It was really hard on him." she said looking up at her.

"I know sweetie, but that's the past. He wants to live for today." she said looking over at her.

"I know mom. I don't want to be the thing that keeps him from making peace with his past." she said getting up from the table to find Roger standing in the doorway.

"You're not Maddie. I thought you understood that." he said looking down at her as Mark stood behind him.

"Roger, I saw how happy you were when you were with your friends in the city. That's where you belong, not here playing a hole in the wall bar." she said with tears in her eyes.

"Maddie, I wanna be with you. And you're here. I love it here." he said going to her as Mark and Mrs. Corrigan left them alone.

"Roger, I'm 27 years old. I am capable of moving away from home. If you want to go to the city, I'll go with you." she said looking up at him.

"But Maddie, our life is here. I wanna be here with you." he smiled taking her into his arms.

"OK Roger. You win. We'll stay in Jersey." she smiled looking up at him.

"Maddie, I love you and I love our life here." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled holding him tightly.

"Looks like Roger's staying in Jersey, huh?" Mrs. Corrigan smiled looking over at Mark.

"I figured he was here for good." Mark said looking over at her.

"I hope you like taking the path train." she smiled before walking away.

"Mark, come on. We're gonna be late." Roger yelled as he entered the house.

"Yeah, I'm coming. I've been ready for a while. What took you so long getting ready?" he asked looking up at him.

"Never mind, let's just go. Maddie's waiting in the car." Roger laughed looking up at him.

"You guys were fighting over the blow dryer again, weren't you?" Mark teased looking up at him.

"Shut up." Roger laughed as they left the house.

"I knew it. You love that shit, don't you?" he asked looking up at him.

"The mundane, hum drum life? Yeah, I do. You have no idea." he smiled before getting in the car to go to work.

"So Mark, when does your train leave tomorrow?" Madison asked looking to the back seat.

"1 o'clock in the afternoon." he said looking over at her.

"How about we hang out tonight after work? You know, get drunk." Madison suggested smiling at him.

"Sounds great to me." Roger smiled looking over at Madison as he pulled into the parking lot of the bar.

"There he is. Hey Mark, we've been waiting for you." Bobby smiled looking over at him as he, Roger and Madison entered the bar.

"Hey Bobby. What's going on?" Mark smiled looking up at him.

"Nothin'. Are you looking forward to going back to the city?" he asked looking over at him.

"Yeah, I am. I mean, I like it here but I really need to be getting back. I have friends who need me." he said sitting at the bar.

"I understand." Bobby smiled drinking his beer.

"Roger, you're almost on." Madison smiled looking up at him.

"I know Baby." he smiled leaning down to kiss her before getting his guitar.

"And now our very own, Roger Davis." Madison smiled as she stood in front of the microphone as everyone cheered.

"Go Roger." Bobby yelled as Roger took the stage.

"Thanks." he smiled as he started his set. He played original and cover songs. As he sung, Mark filmed everything.

"He is something, huh?" Madison asked leaning over the bar to Mark.

"Yeah, he always could command an audience." he smiled looking up at her.

"Now I wanna do a song that isn't mine, but it fits. When I left the city 9 months ago, I didn't know where I was going. All I knew was, I needed to get out of the city. The last thing I expected was to find another family or another home." Roger started as he began the song. "_I was looking back on my life, And all the things I've done to me, I'm still looking for the answers, I'm still searching for the key, The wreckage of my past keeps haunting me, It just won't leave me alone, I still find it all a mystery, Could it be a dream? The road to nowhere leads to me. Through all the happiness and sorrow, I guess I'd do it all again, Live for today and not tomorrow, It's still the road that never ends, The wreckage of my past keeps haunting me, It just won't leave me alone, I still find it all a mystery, Could it be a dream? The road to nowhere leads to me, Ah, ah. The road to nowhere's gonna pass me by, Ah, ah. I hope we never have to say goodbye, I never want to live without you, The wreckage of my past keeps haunting me, It just won't leave me alone, I still find it all a mystery, Could it be a dream? The road to nowhere leads to me.__"_he sung as everyone cheered. "Thanks." he smiled before taking his guitar off and stepping off stage.

"You were amazing Baby." Madison smiled looking up at him as he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up to kiss him.

"Yeah Rog. That was really great." Mark smiled looking up at him.

"Thanks man." he smiled putting Madison down.

"I'm gonna get you guys some beers." Madison smiled looking up at them.

"OK Baby. Thanks." Roger smiled looking down at her.

"You really do belong here, don't you Roger?" Mark asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, I do." Roger smiled looking over at Madison.

"I can see that." Mark smiled as Madison smiled over at them.


End file.
